Forever Children
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: For the Microfic\Drabble Christmas Edition Meme on Livejournal. Colette, Lloyd, and Genis. Because acting childish every now and then is perfectly acceptable. Requested by Lil Samuu.


**Forever Children  
By: Manna

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…_**xOx…**_

**The Microfic/Drabble Meme!****  
Christmas Edition!  
Requested By: **_**Lil-Samuu**_  
Prompt: "Just because we're grown up doesn't mean we have to act it all the time."  
Spice: Vanilla  
Pairing/Characters: Colette, Lloyd, Genis  
Fandom: _Tales of Symphonia

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…_**xOx…**_

It was over. Everything was over. Lloyd couldn't be more relieved.

And for that matter, neither could anyone else. It felt strange to return to Iselia after everything that had happened, but it was home. And home was nice.

He celebrated their safe return by sleeping in class.

Professor Sage encouraged—well, more like insisted, demanded, and threatened-- them to finish their education before going off on any other wild adventures. Because really, she had scolded, what good was a brain if you didn't use it?

Lloyd figured she was probably right.

But still…her lessons were just…

_Zzz_…

A light poke in his ribs made him snort, and a second and third made him open his eyes slightly. Colette's cheerful—but worried—expression greeted him.

"Lloyd," she whispered. "Lloyd, Professor Sage will be angry when she turns around and you're not paying—"

Just then, the clock struck 11, and students poured out of the room for lunch and recess, not really caring that their teacher was in the middle of a sentence.

Raine merely sighed and let her shoulders slump slightly. Nobody really cared about studies on such a nice day, did they? But when she looked up, Colette and Lloyd greeted her, and she smiled tersely. "Well, at least I can count on you two. Now run along and leave me to do some grading."

"I can't believe Genis didn't stick around," his blonde friend murmured as she took her small tin and made her way out of the classroom.

"He said the professor's been nagging at him since we got back to study," he answered, opening the door to the schoolhouse for her. Outside, it was cold, but the sun was shining. "Ah, freedom…even though it's only for half an hour."

"You're so silly, Lloyd. But it is nice out here…"

"What are you talking about?" Genis grumbled, his arms wrapped around himself as he made his way up to them. "I think I'm going to freeze to death in a matter of moments. Sorry guys, but I'm going back inside."

"Good luck with that," Lloyd muttered. "You do realize that you'll be subjected to study materials while you eat, right?"

Genis blinked. "And?" he asked. "It's better than losing a limb due to frostbite, you know."

"Oh, Genis!" Colette giggled and spun around once in the schoolyard. "It's so nice outside!" Just then a tiny snowflake fell and landed right on the tip of her nose.

"…Like I said…" their half-elf friend shuddered, and in less than a second, he was gone, eager to chomp on a sandwich in the warm classroom.

"Hey Colette?"

"What is it?" She looked at him over her carefully-packed lunch just as another snowflake settled on her face, this one landing on her lip, making her giggle a little before she licked it away with the tip of her tongue.

Lloyd grinned, "Now that it's snowing…you know what that means, right?"

"Uhm… I don't know." She smiled innocently and chewed her food.

"It means when there's enough snow on the ground," he said between large bites of food, "I'm going to gather up a big snowball and—"

"Throw it at Genis? Really Lloyd, that's not very nice…"

"No, I'll throw it at you. Right here," he told her, reaching out a hand and flicking her nose lightly with his forefinger before laughing.

"Uhm…then I guess I'll throw one back!" she giggled, imitating throwing a snowball at his head.

He promptly fell over onto the ground, clutching at the side of his face. "Oh no Colette, you got me… I'm done for…" He gasped a few times before laying completely still.

Colette finished her sandwich, but Lloyd was still laying prone on the cold ground. Experimentally, she poked at him.

_Poke. Poke._

"…Lloyd?"

Suddenly, he flew upward with a shout—_rawr!_—and flailed his arms around wildly, making his companion shriek as she fell backward onto her butt. "Gotcha Colette!" he shouted, laughing as he got to his feet and reached out a hand to help her up.

"L-Lloyd!" she gasped, shaking her head as she smacked him lightly in the arm. "I can't believe you! You act just like a little kid. We're too old for that now, aren't we?"

"Pff," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "You sound like the professor. But to answer your question, it's impossible to be too old to have fun. You know, all work and no play…"

"Makes Lloyd a dull boy?" She chuckled and pushed him toward the classroom. "You made that up…it's probably one of the Dwarven Vows!"

"How did you know?" he fake-gasped, letting her herd him in the right direction. "No, Colette! Don't you know what lies beyond that door?"

"Death and destruction?"

"No…" Just then, they reached the threshold, and he slumped to the ground, twitching violently, trying to keep a grin off of his face as he stopped and let his eyes roll into the back of his head. "An…anti-immaturity…barrier…Colette. Run… Run while you…while you can…"

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…_**xOx…**_

**Author Notes:**

Because acting childish every now and then is definitely worth it. Not that I…participate in childish games, of course. Haha!

Thanks for reading. Feedback is much appreciated!


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